Galdern, is it Thursday already? I guess that means my vacation is almost over. Anyways, here goes the latest update to the annals of the National NRT Institute.

Before we get to it, let me state that (once again) I've spent money I ain't got. That's right, debt begets debt -- in spades. Even though I'm living hand to mouth I couldn't resist picking up the new release from the queen of politicalactivisticfolkalternativemusictypestuff -- Ani DiFranco. This gem is called Reprieve.

Now, Ani has had a long running career of creating ear candy bristling with political and social commentary, but this time something is different. She always seems to harness her distain for the system by concocting musical frolics that enlighten but also conjure a simile or three. This time something is different. Like many of us died-in-the-wool liberals, her frustration with the state of the world today, seems to have overtaken her. As usual, her lyrics and musicianship are topnotch but she seems to have failed to inject that smirk or sense of whimsy that has made us smile at all of her past commentaries. This album is as politically loaded as ever but it's evident that she's at her wit's end. Okay, think of it this way: imagine The Daily Show without the humor.

I know, all of that sounds like a pan, but it's not. Although Reprieve isn't what I expected, I love it because it's evidence that I'm not the only one that's, well, pissed off.

Millennium Theater. And as a bonus, here's one she performed live shortly after September 11, 2001.